Over the years, many of our readers have asked for a list of authors who are promoting contemplative prayer. Well here is a list we have compiled. This is from 10 years of research at Lighthouse Trails. The list includes those authors who directly teach contemplative prayer as well as those who have consistently promoted contemplative prayer teachers. All of the names below are in one of these two categories. If you are a skeptic, this is not guilt by association, but is rather guilt by promotion or proxy. It is not possible to list every single contemplative prayer advocate, as the number of those in this category increases weekly with new book releases. Some of these names are not “evangelical” Christians but are to be found in either the Catholic camp or the New Age camp. We include those in this list because they are names that are being recommended or referenced by evangelical/Protestant leaders. We have found these names below to be the most influential in this area. At times, we will replace names with others as they come to our attention. If you need information on any of these names below, you can find most of them using our blog search engine or our research site Topical Index.
(updated 2/9/12)
1. Adele Alhberg Calhoun
2. Agnes Sanford
3. Alan Jones
4. Anne Lamott
5. Anthony de Mello
6. Basil Pennington
7. Beatrice Bruteau
8. Bernard of Clairvaux
9. Beth Moore
10. Bill Hybels
11. Brennan Manning
12. Brian McLaren
13. Brother Lawrence
14. Calvin Miller
15. Carl McColman
16. Chuck Smith, Jr.
17. Dallas Willard
18. Dan Kimball
19. Daniel Goleman
20. David Benner
21. David Crowder
22. David Steindl-Rast
23. Desert Fathers
24. Doug Pagitt
25. Emilie Griffin
26. Eugene Peterson
27. Evelyn Underhill
28. Gary Thomas
29. Gerald May
30. Gerald Sittser
31. Henri Nouwen
32. Hildegard of Bingen
33. J.P. Moreland
34. Jack Canfield
35. James Goll
36. Jan Johnson
37. Jean-Nicholas Gru
38. John Coe
39. John Michael Talbot
40. John Ortberg
41. Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove
42. Julian of Norwich
43. Karl Rahner
44. Keith Drury
45. Ken Blanchard
46. Ken Boa
47. Keri Wyatt Kent
48. Kurt Bjorklund
49. Kyle Strobel
50. Larry Crabb
51. Laurie Beth Jones
52. Leighton Ford
53. Leonard Sweet
54. Liz Babbs
55. Madame Guyon
56. Maggie & Duffy Robbins
57. Marcus Borg
58. Marjorie Thompson
59. Mark Driscoll
60. Mark Virkler
61. Mark Yaconelli
62. Max Lucado
63. Meister Eckhart
64. Michael Card
65. Mike Bickle
66. Mindy Caliguire
67. Morton Kelsey
68. Pete Greig
69. Pete Scazzero
70. Peter Senge
71. Philip St. Romain
72. Phillip Yancey
73. Phyllis Tickle
74. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
75. Pope Benedict XVI
76. Richard Foster
77. Richard Peace
78. Richard Rohr
79. Richard Rolle
80. Rick Warren
81. Rob Bell
82. Robert Webber
83. Ruth Haley Barton
84. St Anthony
85. St. Catherine of Siena
86. St. Ignatius Loyola
87. St. John of the Cross
88. St. Teresa of Avila
89. Sue Monk Kidd
90. The Cloud of Unknowing by an Anonymous Monk
91. Thomas Aquinas
92. Thomas Keating
93. Thomas Merton
94. Tilden Edwards
95. Todd Bentley
96. Tony Campolo
97. Tony Jones
98. Tricia Rhodes
99. William Paul Young
100. William Shannon
Seems like everyone is getting on the Contemplative train. Now I find out that my (former) denomination is ncorporately pushing it. Where does a faithful Christian go? Seems like there are no solid churches left. Looks like underground house churches are the only answer, Anyone out there in the Vancouver area that can help?